Softwr

Beauty & Salon · head to head

Envision vs Medusa

Envision logo

Envision

Beauty & Salon

Salon management software with integrated POS

From
$79/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Medusa logo

Medusa

E-commerce & Retail

Open source Shopify alternative

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Medusa has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Envision standard plan includes only 1 user and charges $20 per additional user up to a 5 seat cap; Medusa the managed cloud meters four separate resources: edge requests, emails, compute hours and database storage
  • They diverge on capability: Envision covers Appointment scheduling, Medusa covers Open source.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Envision and Medusa actually diverge.

Attributes where Envision and Medusa differ
AttributeEnvisionMedusa
Starting price$79/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
CategoryBeauty & SalonE-commerce & Retail
Founded20082020

Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Envision

  • Appointment scheduling
  • Point of sale
  • Inventory management
  • Client database
  • Staff scheduling
  • SMS reminders
  • Reporting
  • Stripe

Only in Medusa

  • Open source
  • Modular architecture
  • Multi-region support
  • Plugin system
  • Admin dashboard
  • Order management
  • Inventory tracking
  • Payment integrations

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Envision

  • Salon and spa businesses managing bookings, marketing campaigns and payments in one platformnot Medusa

Medusa

  • Building a custom ecommerce backend on an open source headless platformnot Envision
  • Running a self hosted or managed commerce API with a custom storefrontnot Envision

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Envision

  • Standard plan includes only 1 user and charges $20 per additional user up to a 5 seat cap
  • No dollar amounts are shown for any plan; the page states pricing is tailored to your practice and requires contacting sales

Medusa

  • The managed cloud meters four separate resources: edge requests, emails, compute hours and database storage
  • The Develop plan at $29 a month applies a hard limit of 1,000 emails, so it stops rather than bills
  • Compute hours are capped at 600 on Develop and 800 on Launch
  • Edge request overage is $0.3 per million and storage $0.5 per GB month above the plan allowance
  • Background workers and priority support require the Scale plan at $299 a month

Pricing, plan by plan

Envision

$79/month
  • Starter$79/month
    • Scheduling
    • Basic POS
    • Client management
  • Professional$159/month
    • Everything in Starter
    • Advanced POS
    • Inventory

Medusa

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full source code
    • Self-hosted
    • Community support
  • Cloud$50/month
    • Managed hosting
    • Automatic updates
    • Priority support

Which should you pick?

Choose Envision if

  • You need appointment scheduling.
  • You also want point of sale.
Envision review

Choose Medusa if

  • You need open source.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want modular architecture.
Medusa review

Questions people ask

Is Envision or Medusa better?
Neither clearly leads. Envision starts at $79/month and Medusa at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Envision or Medusa?
Medusa has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $79/month for Envision and Free for Medusa.
Does Envision or Medusa run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Medusa for free?
Yes. Medusa has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Envision starts at $79/month.
What is Envision best used for?
Envision is most often used for salon and spa businesses managing bookings, marketing campaigns and payments in one platform. Of those, salon and spa businesses managing bookings, marketing campaigns and payments in one platform is not what Medusa is typically brought in for.
What can Envision do that Medusa cannot?
Envision covers Appointment scheduling, Point of sale, Inventory management, Client database. Medusa covers Open source, Modular architecture, Multi-region support, Plugin system.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Envision

More on Medusa

Keep looking

Other head to heads